MINNEAPOLIS — A fallen police officer gave his loved ones a reason to run in the Medtronic Twin Cities Marathon.
Officer Paul Elmstrand's badge number "176" was written on his older brother Erik's arm as he completed Sunday's marathon.
"He was going to run this race, and it was his first marathon," Erik said, describing how his youngest sibling had decided to run in January.
"It was too early to sign up, so he didn’t officially sign up, but he created a fundraiser page with his church and committed to a group," he said.
Officer Elmstrand was killed in February. The shooting in the line of duty also took the lives of Burnsville colleague Matthew Ruge and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth.
Erik said his family spent time discussing what they could do after their loss. "We've got to do this for Paul. It was our consensus," he said.
Roughly 20 friends and family members ran in Paul's honor, and his big brother completed the 26-mile race with a time just two minutes shy of the badge number he had on his arm.
"It feels good to do something to bring it home for him," Erik said.